Yesterday, we were delighted to host close to 200 people at The ORIGINS 2024 Showcase, which explored the power of longitudinal cohorts, now and in the future.
ORIGINS welcomed close to 30 speakers and table hosts, who shared break-through findings on screen time, nature play and mental health, and lead thoughtful discussions on ORIGINS as our children grow from babies to little ORIGINS Champions.
We were delighted to host three keynote speakers, including;
- Professor Fiona Wood AO Perth Children’s Hospital & UWA, who provided an impactful talk on how ORIGINS is supporting her findings on the long-term effects of major burns in children
- Professor Susan Morton, University of Technology Sydney, who showcased the power of her own cohort study, which found that immunisation in New Zealand ‘is not an education problem.’
- Professor Melissa Wake, Director of the Generation Victoria (GenV) initiative, on creating longitudinal cohorts fit for the 21st century.
Some groundbreaking findings were also revealed from sub-projects such as SCREENS, on how screentime in infancy can affect attachment if not used with intention or replaces traditional play.
AERIAL, SYMBA and TUMS also revealed their latest findings, some of which are still yet to be announced publicly.
Magic was made in our second half of the Showcase, where we revealed an exciting expansion into The Primary School Years and turned to our audience for guidance on future research.
As the 10,000- strong participant cohort grows from babies into little ORIGINS champions, the project will be expanding to include ages six, seven and eight. ‘The Primary School Years’ will include major areas of research such as language and literacy, mental health, quality of life, family functioning, lifestyle behaviours and respiratory health.
Our audience were each led by table leads who are experts on their particular research area. Here they discussed how our subprojects could be applied to these years and support some crucial issues of today.
The 2024 Showcase was rounded out by a thoughtful panel discussion, which highlighted the need for education and guidance as children enter the primary school years.
It was a fast-paced and thoughtful afternoon, creating a springboard into a powerful future for our longitudinal cohort.
First published Thursday 23 May 2024.